This page gives an overview of the important news, reports, documents, and public statements regarding U.S. and World attainment of the MDGs.

Millennium Development Goals Overview

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a series of eight international development goals that set targets for all 192 state-members of the United Nations to achieve by the year 2015. Created during the Millennium Summit in September, 2000, the Goals address issues such as extreme poverty, hunger, gender equality, HIV/AIDS, and environmental sustainability. They also advocate for fundamental rights to health, education, work, and security. The eight chapters of the MDGs are:

Target 7A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs; reverse loss of environmental resources

Target 7B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss

Proportion of land area covered by forest

CO2 emissions, total, per capita and per $1 GDP (PPP)

Consumption of ozone-depleting substances

Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits

Proportion of total water resources used

Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected

Proportion of species threatened with extinction

Target 7C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural

Proportion of urban population with access to improved sanitation

Target 7D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers

Proportion of urban population living in slums

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

Target 8A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system

Includes a commitment to good governance, development, and poverty reduction – both nationally and internationally

Target 8B: Address the Special Needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDC)

Includes: tariff and quota free access for LDC exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for HIPC and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA (Overseas Development Assistance) for countries committed to poverty reduction

Target 8C: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States

Through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly

Target 8D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term

Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developed countries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.

Official development assistance (ODA):

Net ODA, total and to LDCs, as percentage of OECD/DAC donors’ GNI

Proportion of total sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation)

Proportion of bilateral ODA of OECD/DAC donors that is untied

ODA received in landlocked countries as proportion of their GNIs

ODA received in small island developing States as proportion of their GNIs

Market access:

Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from developing countries and from LDCs, admitted free of duty

Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and textiles and clothing from developing countries

Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as percentage of their GDP

Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity

Debt sustainability:

Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision points and number that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative)

Green Economy can reduce poverty and help meet Millennium Development GoalsSeptember 20, 2010New York, 20 September 2010 - Investing in clean energy, sustainable transport, forests and environmentally-friendly agriculture is essential, if internationally-agreed goals to reduce poverty are to be achieved. This is among the central conclusions of A Brief for Policymakers on the Green Economy and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), launched today as heads of state and ministers meet at the UN Headquarters to review progress to date - five years before the MDG deadline of 2015.

World Bank MDG Efforts Help Save 13 Million Lives Since 2000September 19, 2010New York, Sunday, September 19, 2010?In his opening statement to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly Monday on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), World Bank Group President, Robert B. Zoellick, will say that the World Bank has helped to save the lives of 13 million people with its MDG-related IDA* fund for the world’s poorest since 2000, and will redouble efforts to mobilize substantial new investments agriculture, education, and health to close the overall MDG gap over the next five years.

UN looks to sports to advance Millennium Development GoalsSeptember 17, 2010NEW YORK, 17 September 2003 - The world would be a healthier and less dangerous place if nations invested more seriously in their citizens’ right to participate in sports, according to a report launched today by 10 United Nations agencies.

Artists and Activists Unite to Improve Maternal Health at MDGFive.comSeptember 17, 2010NEW YORK — Artists and activists are lending their voices to the global chorus to improve maternal health through a new interactive website and online community. The new initiative, MDGFive.com, which was launched in conjunction with the Millennium Development Review Summit, is specifically aimed at building momentum for the achievement of MDG 5, which calls for significant improvement in maternal health by 2015.

India Steps Up to the MDG 5 ChallengeSeptember 14, 2010India’s maternal mortality rate has declined from 570 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 230 in 2008, which means that the country could come very close to, or even reach, the Millennium Development Goal 5 indicator, which calls for declines of 75 per cent (from 1990 to 2015).

Syria MDG report: the main challenge is environmental degradationSeptember 8, 2010Syria has made substantive progress on school enrollment and reducing child deaths, according to the country’s recently published third national Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report. The report finds that the country’s main challenge in eradicating extreme poverty is sustainable environmental management. While many different factors define the incidence of poverty in the country, climatic changes resulting from eco-system degradation and the accompanying desertification, have had one of the strongest influences on poverty dynamics.

MDGs can be achieved-Tanzania September 6, 2010Tanzania’s participation in a Rwanda meeting to deliberate on the implementation of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa sets the pace for re-examination of the country’s own efforts towards achieving them.

One Stop Shop for MDGs Data LaunchedAugust 27, 2010PacificInfo measures the eight goals of the MDGs for all the 15 countries through a wide range of indicators. It also provides a Monitoring and Evaluation framework, using MDGs indicators and Pacific Plan indicators, for United Nations Development Assistance Framework, a framework setting out what the United Nations agencies, collectively and individually, will support in the 14 Pacific Island countries (PNG is covered separately) using MDGs indicators and Pacific Plan indicators.

Ahead of G-8, New Analysis Reveals African Countries Top List of 20 Countries Making Most Overall Progress on MDGsJune 22, 2010June 22, 2010 — As G-8 and G-20 leaders prepare to gather in Canada, new analysis issued by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the United Nations Millennium Campaign finds that, in absolute terms, many of the world’s poorest countries are making the most overall progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the set of promises world leaders made to significantly reduce extreme poverty, illiteracy and disease by 2015. Particularly relevant for G-8 countries are the findings which underline the importance of open trade and effective and timely aid in driving this success. For poor countries, political leadership, accountability and adequate budgetary allocations for the Goals are cited as key criteria to drive sustained progress. The analysis also finds that most low and middle income countries are making progress on most of the key MDG indicators.

Europe Fails to Announce Concrete Action Plan to Achieve MDGs June 17, 2010While Europe boasts that it is the world’s largest donor of development aid, it’s recently- announced position for the upcoming UN MDG Review High Level Plenary Meeting in New York on September 20-22 undermines its role in accelerating progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Europeans Bring MDG Demands to Parliament June 15, 2010European citizens took their demands that world leaders end poverty to the European Parliament today, where a giant petition symbolic of the voices of 505,823 Europeans who have signed an e-card to their leaders was handed over to the President of the
European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, by the UN Millennium Campaign, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and dozens of civil society organizations. The petition was presented as the European Council prepares to meet on June 18 to decide the European Union’s (EU) position on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Civil Society Conference on MDGs to be held in Madrid May 5, 2010From May 5-7, civil society organizations from across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America will meet in Madrid to analyze progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and ask European Union (EU) member states to work on a common position to bring to the UN Summit on the MDGs at the United Nations in September.

UN Millennium Campaign Calls for Urgent Reform of EU Agricultural Policy April 30, 2010BRUSSELS – At a conference on the impact of the European Union’s (EU) Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) on development, the United Nations Millennium Campaign today called on the EU to urgently reform its agriculture policy, which harms the poor and towards global efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

MDG Report 2007 Launched at Opening of ECOSOC SessionJuly 2, 2007New York, 2 July 2007 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the much-anticipated Millennium Development Goals Report 2007 at the opening of the Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) 2007 substantive session in Geneva today. The MDG report, which is being launched simultaneously in a number of locations around the world, marks the mid-way point between the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and the 2015 target date to achieve them.

23rd Governing Council To Focus on Environment and the MDGsFebruary 18, 2005Nairobi, 18 February 2005 – The importance of a healthy environment for realizing the Millennium Development Goals will take centre stage next week when more than 100 environment ministers meet at the world headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya.

MDG Summit in New YorkThis briefing paper is intended to provide information and background on the upcoming United Nations High-level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals – or MDG summit - which will take place from 20-22 September at UN Headquarters in New York.

UN Millennium Campaign Calls for Urgent Reform of EU Agricultural Policy April 30, 2010BRUSSELS – At a conference on the impact of the European Union’s (EU) Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) on development, the United Nations Millennium Campaign today called on the EU to urgently reform its agriculture policy, which harms the poor and towards global efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

MDGs Resources

NGO Position Papers

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals in Africa holds the promise of saving millions of lives, ending the scourge of hunger and malnutrition, and ensuring that Africa’s children are empowered through education and good health to lead productive lives.

Investing in the Millennium Development Goals is a critical step in charting a course towards sustained stability and economic growth that will build capital, attract foreign investment and overcome Africa’s current dependence on external assistance.

The evidence surveyed by the MDG Africa Steering Group demonstrates that — if fully implemented — the recommendations contained in this document will produce substantialand verifiable results. They will take countries closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and lay the foundation for robust economic growth.

This booklet was endorsed by the Eleventh Regional Coordination Group (RCG) Meeting, which was held in Beirut from 20 to 21 June 2006, within the context of the inter-agency project “Toward More Gender-Responsive Millennium Development Goal (MDG) monitoring and reporting in the Arab region”. It is the result of collaborative efforts on the part of various organizations of the United Nations system in the Arab region led by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

This Policy Brief illustrates how social protection programmes can help to accelerate progress to the MDGs by facilitating access to essential services and decent living standards; summarizes evidence on the breadth and effectiveness of social protection programmes in promoting development, enhancing equity and delivering results for vulnerable children, women and households; and highlights opportunities for using these programmes more widely in the global context of a recovery for all.

Reports

The report of the Secretary-General presents information on progress made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals through a comprehensive review of successes, best practices and lessons, learned obstacles and gaps, and challenges and opportunities, leading to concrete strategies for action. The report calls for a new pact to accelerate progress in achieving the Goals in the coming years among all stakeholders, in a commitment towards equitable and sustainable development for all.

This annual report presents the most comprehensive global assessment of progress to date, based on data provided by a large number of international organizations within and outside the United Nations system. The aggregate figures in the report provide an overview of regional progress under the eight goals and are a convenient way to track advances over time. The report is coordinated and published by the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

The global economic crisis has slowed the pace of poverty reduction in developing countries, and is hampering progress toward the other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), says a new report from the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. The crisis is having an impact in several key areas of the MDGs, including those related to hunger, child and maternal health, gender equality, access to clean water, and disease control and will continue to affect development prospects well beyond 2015, says the Global Monitoring Report 2010: The MDGs after the Crisis. As a result of the crisis, 53 million more people will remain in extreme poverty by 2015 than otherwise would have. Even so, the report projects that the number of extreme poor could total around 920 million five years from now, marking a significant decline from the 1.8 billion people living in extreme poverty in 1990.

The report “Millennium Development Goal 8: Strengthening the Global Partnership for Development in a Time of Crisis” is prepared by the MDG Gap Task Force, which was created by the UN Secretary-General to improve the monitoring of MDG 8. More than 20 UN agencies are represented in the Task Force, including the World Bank and the IMF, as well as the OECD and World Trade Organization. UNDP and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs act as lead agencies in coordinating the work of the Task Force.

The present report recognizes that further progress has been made towards fulfilling the promises embodied in Millennium Development Goal 8 (MDG 8). At the same time, it identifies important setbacks, most of which have arisen from the current state of the world economy which is suffering its severest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.